Ravichandran Ashwin suggests change in timings to avoid dew factor in ODIs
Star India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has suggested a preponement of matches during the upcoming World Cup in India in order to avoid the dew factor. Dew has affected quite a number of matches in the subcontinent for long, providing the teams chasing an unfair advantage. The prospect of the dew effectively means the captain winning the toss opts to chase.
“Dew narrows the gap of losing”: Ashwin appeals to the ICC for time change
Speaking in a video released on his YouTube channel, Ashwin very categorically mentioned that when the World Cup happens in India later this year, the matches can be started at least two hours early in order to avoid the dew factor.
“My suggestion or rather my opinion for the World Cup is to look at what venues we are playing in, and at what times. Why shouldn’t we start matches at 11.30am during the World Cup?” For the record, day-night ODIs in India usually begin at 1.30 pm, and extend well into the primetime television hours.
Citing an example from the 1st ODI between India and Sri Lanka in the just concluded series, the 36-year-old stated his thoughts by mentioning that the difference between the quality of teams is not visible because of the dew. In the 1st ODI, batting first, India had scored 373/7 while Sri Lanka had managed 306/8.
“India batted beautifully on a slow wicket and posted a score well above par. Still they ended up having to fight tooth and nail to win. The quality difference between the teams isn’t coming through – dew is narrowing that gap if you happen to lose the toss.”
Ashwin also went on to suggest that since it will be a World Cup and happening in India, so people will undoubtedly tune in to watch the match irrespective of the timings, and so it would only be fair to start atleast two hours early to avoid the dew factor and allow people to watch not late till the night.
“People will bring up television viewers and broadcasters, and say that people won’t latch on and watch at that time, but would they not latch on to World Cup matches?” the spinner asked. “The recent T20 World Cup was also held in winter, prioritising the summer. It wasn’t the ideal scenario – T20 is a fast-paced game, how can you play it in winter? People will say that’s not the case in Australia, but still, we need to prioritise World Cups.”
